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v (No Model.) 3 Sheet-Sheet 1.

W. LEWIS.

- B-E NDING ROLLS.

No. 500286. Patented June 27; 1893.

THE NORRIS PETERS 00.. PNOTD-UTHO" WASHINGTON. a. c.

3 SheetsSheet 2. W. LEWIS. BENDIN G ROLLS.

No. 500,286. Patented June 27, 1893.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. W. LEWIS.

BENDING ROLLS.

No. 500,286. Patented June' 2'7, 1893.

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' UNITE-D ST TES PATENT OFFICE.

WILFRED LEWIS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLIAMSELLERS & COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF SAME PLACE.

BENDlNG-ROLL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,286, dated June 27,1893.

Application filed July 14, 1992.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILFRED LEWIS, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new anduseful Improvements in Bending-Rolls, of which improvements thefollowing is a specifioation.

My invention relates to the machineryfor driving, supporting andadjusting bending rolls, and more particularly to the method employedfor driving the rolls on both sides of the plate so as to avoid as muchas possible, the action of calendering. Bending rolls diifer in thenumber and arrangement of the rolls employed, some having three rolls,their axes either horizontal or vertical, and others having four rollsarranged with axes horizontal, but in any case, there is always oneroll, toward or from which move the other rolls, which are hereindesignated as pinching'or bending rolls. In four roll machines, the mainroll acts against an opposing mate directly underneath, known as thepinching roll, between which and the main roll the plate is pinched anddriven, while on either side, symmetrically arranged, are the bendingrolls which are driven by the plate. By omitting one of the bendingrolls in a four roll machine, a three roll machine is produced in whichthe pinching roll acts also as a bending roll, but the pressure of themain roll is divided unequally between them, and to distinguish betweenthe bending rolls in this arrangement it will be understood that whenthey are not so located as to divide equally the pressure of the mainroll against them, the term pinching roll still refers to the rollintended to carry the heavier load. In threeroll machines, however, therolls are generally arranged in what is known as the pyramidal form, inwhich the pressure of the main roll is divided equally between the twobending rolls. When a pinching roll is used, it is the common practiceto drive both rolls at alternate ends, but when thus driven, the gearingat one end becomes an obstruction to the removal of fiues. In thepyramidal type of machine, the bending rolls are commonly carried in theroll housings and driven by gearing attached to the housings allowingthe main roll to be held in adjustable bearings and to be Serial No.439.999. (N0 model.)

driven by the plate. To permit the removal of flues, it is usual inthese machines to drive both bending rolls at the same end, leaving theopposite end free and unobstructed by gearing, but, in doing this, thedriving power of the maohineis limited by the strength of the gearingattached to the bending rolls. When these rolls are close together, asis customary, the diameter of their driving gears is so restricted thatthe rolls must be driven by pinions, but little, if any larger than therolls themselves, and as a result of this the process of plate bendingbecomes very slow and tedious. To avoid these difficulties and increasethe driving power of the machine, attempts have been made to drive themain and pinching rolls or all three of the rolls at one end, buthitherto all attempts to drive the main roll in connection with anotherroll of a bending machine have been embarrassed by the difficulty ofproviding for a variable velocity ratio between the surfaces of rollsacting on opposite sides of the plate. It is evident that when a plateis bent to afull circle, the outside circumference is longer than theinside circumference by about six times the thickness of the plate, andthat, to avoid calendering, the surface velocity of any roll on theoutside of a plate must be proportionately greater than that of the mainroll. When the plate is straight, however, no difference in velocity isrequired, and to avoid the action of calendering on plates of differentcurvatures and thicknesses, an equalizing gear has sometimes beenintroduced, but there are serious objections to such an expedient, andusually the bending rolls only are driven, or if the main and bendingrolls are both driven, the rolls are forced toslip on the plate thusaugmenting unnecessarily the work of driving. This may be said of allmachines, butin four-roll machines, it is seldom necessary to makeprovision for the removal of lines, and, consequently it is possible todrive the main and pinching rolls by large gears at alternate ends, andthese gears can always be made heavy and strong enough for the workrequired of them. It will be understood, therefore, that although it isimportant and desirable to avoid calendering as much as possible in allbending machines, it becomes a greater necessity in three roll machinesdesigned for the removal of flnes where large gears at alternate ends ofthe rolls cannot be used. In the latter class of machines, as beforementioned, the rolls may be set horizontally or vertically, and thisdifierence in position gives rise to difierent arrangements designed tofacilitate the removal of fines from'th'e rolls.

To avoid these defects and secure other advantages in the constructionand operation of bending rolls, it is an object of my invention toprovide ample driving strength for heavy work without introducing at thesame time the evil efiects of calendering.

It is a further object of my invention to bend straight or tapering andinsure an even distribution of pressure on the journals of the bendingrolls. 1

To these ends my invention consists in th introduction of a permanenttoothed clutch with lost motion in the train of gearing which drives thepinching roll or bending rolls of a plate bending machine, while themain roll is driven positively from a common driving shaft.

It further consists, in a horizontal main roll, supported at one end infixed housings, and rotated about its axis from the same end, while theother end is supported by a bearing divided vertically through its axis,each half swinging about a separate pin secured to-a housing at thatend. i

It further consists in a pinching roll or bendingrolls mounted inbearings carried on cross pins guided in the housings and supported byadjusting screws. j

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a horizontal three rollmachine showing the driving machinery adjusting screws and tumblerbearing. Fig. 2, is a sectional end elevation on the line A B, Fig. 1.Fig. 3, is an end elevation showing the tumbler bearing closed. Fig. 4,is an end elevation showing the tumbler bearing open. Fig. 5, is anenlarged view of the lost motion clutch in the train of gearing to drivethe side rolls. Fig. 6, is a section of the lost motion clutch on theline C D, Fig. 5.

1 and 2 are floor beams to which the housings are attached.

3, is an end housing which serves to carry the driving machinery andtheprojecting end of the main roll.

4, is the middle housing adjacent to the op- 6, is the main rollsupported at one end in the housings '3 and 4.

7 and 8, are the bending rolls supported at each end by the bearingblocks 15 and 16 restwhich the adjusting screws 19and 20 are fixed. Themain roll 6 carries the large spur gear 9 which is driven by the pinion10 on the driving shaft 11, and this driving shaft carries also thepinion 12 which engages with the clutch wheel 13 on the stud 14 in thebearing block 15. The clutch wheel 13 engages with the clutch pinion 21on the same stud by teeth having lost motion between them and thispinion drives the wheels 22 and 23 on the bending rolls 7 and 8; Fromthis arrangement, it will be seen that the rolls 6, 7 and 8 are alldriven from a common driving shaft 11. This shaft is represented asdriven through the wheel 24, pinion 25, wheel 26, and pinion 27, by thepulley shaft 28 on which reversing pulleys are supposed to be mounted.

and a difference in peripheral speed is required, the bending rolls maybe driven by the plate instead of by the gearing which caused the plateto enter. This is possible by reason of the lost motion provided betweenthe clutch pinion 21 and its driving wheel 13, so

that the bending rolls can run aheaduntil the lost motion is taken up,or until the machine is reversed. The amount of lost motion requireddepends upon the thickness of fplate for which the rolls are intendedand 1 can, therefore, be definitely determined so that in no case 'willthere be any danger of I calendaring while the main roll is able todothe whole work of driving. "When the fricition of the main roll againstthe plate is in- :sufficient to carry it through,.the roll willslip onthe plate, and allow the bending rolls to 3 give the necessaryassistance, but the heaviest .work of driving must be done by the main 5roll to which abundant power can be transmitted through the large spurgear 9.' The gearing which drives the bending rolls is thus irelieved ofheavy duty, and, ordinarily, the oalendering action on a plate isbetween the clutch wheels 13 and 21.

The bending rolls 7 and 8 are adjusted by the worm wheels-41 and 42which are arranged to be operated independently or together so thatthese rolls may be tilted if desired.

With this object in view the bearing blocks 15 and 16 are supportedonthe pins 17 and 18 which are guided in the housings 4 and 5 and permitthe bearings to, adj ust themselves to the inclination of the rolls. Theadjustment of these rolls is effected by power from a conntershaft withstraight and crossedbelts to pulleys on the machine or by independentengine or friction clutches as preferred. ing on and guided by the pins17 and 18 under In Fig. 2 a pulley shaft 38 is indicated as driving bythe pinion 39 and'wheel 40 the shaft 29 whichin turn drives the wormwheels 41 and 42 by gearing at each end, to which the shaft 29 may becoupled or uncoupled. By this means the bending rolls may be adjusted ateither end independently or at both ends together. The tumbler -bearingby means of which the main roll may be connected to or disconnected fromthe end housing, consists of the plates 3030 and 31-31 united in pairsand pivoted to the housing 5 by the pins 32 and 33. When the bearing isclosed as shown in Fig. 3, the two sides of the bearing are coupled bythe bolt 34 inclosing the bushing 35 on the end of the main roll.

36 and 37 are counterweights designed to' balance the tumbler bearing inany position and render its movement light and easy.

When the bearing is open, as shown in Fig. 4, the sheet which has beenrolled to a full circle may be removed by sliding it along the bendingrolls. This can be done more easily than is possible by the old methodof .tilting the main roll and pulling the sheet off obliquely or bydividing the bearing and sliding each half laterally, which requiresmore power and more movement, to give the same clear ance that isobtained, by swinging each half about a separate pin. There is also anadvantage in the construction of this bearing over the extension of themain roll beyond the lower bearings to receive a strap pivoted to aprojection at the end of the housing.

Such a construction tends to distort the housing, while in the presentdesign it will be seen that the bearings are all in the plane of thehousing and that the stressesare therefore transmitted directly and tothe best advantage.

It will be understood from the above description that the lost motionclutch in the driving train can be equally well applied to the pinchingroll in a four-roll machine or to the bending rolls in a verticalmachine and it is therefore unnecessary to illustrate its applicationmore particularly than is shown by the accompanying drawings.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a plate bending machine, the main roll and an opposing roll orrolls, with a train of gearing which connects one with the other, incombination with a lost motion toothed clutch in this train,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a plate bending machine, a vertically moving roll bearing blockcontrolled transversely to the rolls, by the roll housing, incombination with a pin, each end of which is embraced and guided by theroll housing, and about which the bearing block can oscillate, while itis supported and guided in its vertical movement by the pin.

WILFRED LE WIS.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. MASON, JOHN L. PHILLIPS.

